Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Review: A Massive Leap Forward for Foldables

I remember the first time I saw the original Samsung Galaxy Fold. It was 2019, and the long-rumoured device had inexplicably been acquired by one of my then-colleagues. I recall thinking the device was simultaneously extremely ambitious and yet borderline unusable. With hindsight, its ugly 4.6-inch cover screen, thick folded form factor, and cheap-feeling internal display (so plasticky to the touch that many early reviewers tried to peel away what they assumed was a screen cover, ruining their device in the process) meant it probably wasn’t ready for public consumption at that time. 

However, I also saw the exciting potential for what it might eventually become: a phone that serves as a regular candybar-style device without compromise that also unfolds to offer a large-screen experience with ease. In the years since that first release, the Fold line has evolved, taking large leaps here, small steps there, and throughout, I’ve remained an advocate as the device has crept ever closer to what I saw in my mind’s eye when I encountered that first generation. 

Now, we come to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7. This is most certainly an example of an enormous leap rather than a small step over its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Fold6, a phone that itself was a significant improvement over the Fold5. So, we’ve come a long way in two years. In fact, I’d go so far as to say this is the Fold many of us have been waiting for.

While I’ve found plenty to like about the last couple of Fold generations, they’ve also been the kind of niche devices to elicit the response from others, “Yeah, it’s cool, but…”

With the Fold7, that “but” has all but disappeared. Is it a perfect device? No, but it’s an incredible feat of design and engineering that removes many previous compromises, to the point where even one of my most Apple-devoted colleagues emphatically expressed his admiration. 

With that, let’s discuss the good, the bad, and whether the Fold7’s arrival means that now’s the time to jump on Samsung’s foldable bandwagon (if you can afford it). 

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Here at Man of Many, we use a wide variety of technology. We’re not fans of any one brand, and we like to get our hands on the latest and greatest tech before we proclaim any product the next great thing. Over the past 10 years, we’ve built up extensive experience in reviewing tech as a publication.


The author of this article, Rob Edwards, is one of Man of Many’s technology journalists and has followed the industry for over a decade. He’s previously reviewed competitors’ devices and was provided the Galaxy Z Fold7 by Samsung for the purposes of this review. No money exchanged hands; all opinions expressed are those of the author and haven’t been seen by Samsung ahead of time. For more information on our independence, testing and review guidelines, you can read our full editorial policies here.

The Good: An Astonishing Upgrade in Design and Performance

A Foldable That Doesn’t Look Like a Foldable

Just about everyone I’ve shown the Galaxy Z Fold7 to has had a similar reaction — eyebrows raised, a moment of silence as they grapple with what they’re seeing, followed by genuine excitement. 

This response is entirely due to the Fold7’s exceptional form factor and ability to pass for a regular smartphone when in its folded state. It achieves this through an incredibly thin, light, and elegant build that shaves a whopping 26 per cent off its predecessor’s width. Whereas the Fold6 weighed 239 grams and measured 12.1 mm when folded, the Fold7 weighs just 215 grams and measures 8.9 mm when folded. As a point of comparison, Samsung’s non-folding Galaxy S25 Ultra weighs more at 218 grams and is only marginally thinner at 8.2 mm.

To be clear, photos of the Fold7 do not do it justice. The evolution from the previous generation to this one is simply jaw-dropping.

Despite the more compact form factor, both of the Fold7’s screens have been upsized, with the cover screen now stretching to 6.5 inches and the main display hitting a full 8.0 inches — up from 6.3 inches and 7.6 inches last time around.

The most dramatic difference I felt in my time with the device was via the cover screen, which now feels (almost) like you’re just using an S25+ or comparable candybar smartphone. Saying that, I wish it were ever so slightly wider still, and with the next generation, it almost certainly will be, which causes me a little frustration. Nonetheless, this is an enormous improvement over what has come before. 

A Premium Phone Deserves a Premium Camera

One of the aspects I’ve frequently bemoaned when reviewing previous Fold devices has been the fact that these very high-end (i.e. expensive) devices have consistently made compromises when it comes to their cameras. Delivering mere serviceability where the price tag warrants something spectacular, it has always struck me as odd that Samsung’s most premium devices don’t boast Samsung’s most premium cameras.

While the Fold7 does not quite match the camera offering of the S25 Ultra, it does make significant improvements to remedy the situation. The phone boasts five lenses in total, including a formidable trio on its rear (a 200.0-megapixel wide-angle lens, 12.0-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and 10.0-megapixel telephoto lens) and a pair of matching 10.0-megapixel selfie cameras on its cover and main displays. 

The most important of these is the 200-megapixel lens, which is essentially lifted from Samsung’s flagship S25 Ultra device and performs accordingly. For the first time on a Fold, it feels like you can capture truly spectacular images, rather than just settling for snaps that are pretty (or even very) good. The Fold7’s photography chops managed to prove themselves under a wide range of conditions, and it was pretty easy to achieve great results with minimal effort. 

As for the selfie cameras—not something I’m particularly fond of indulging in, truth be told—they are a slight downgrade from the S25 Ultra’s 12.0-megapixel offering. However, you can actually work around this by using the cover display to frame your shots while using the main camera setup to capture yourself in all your glory or lack thereof. It can be a slightly clumsy experience, but it’s worth it when you get the shot right. 

Interface, Processing Power, and Battery

When you’re dealing with a smartphone that consistently sees you jumping back and forth between two screens, you might think there are moments in which it struggles to keep up. However, the Fold7 handled my every whim without complaint.

This is largely thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which offers more than enough grunt to keep things running seamlessly as you navigate through the One UI 8 interface. Building on the slickness of One UI 7, as encountered on the S25 Ultra, the interface feels extremely polished and easy to navigate here, while Samsung’s suite of AI features is also integrated in such a way that, while often inessential (more on that in a moment), I didn’t find it irritating either. 

I should also mention that I’ve found the battery life on the Fold7 to be surprisingly outstanding. You might think that its extremely slim build would mean a downsized battery, as was the case with the Galaxy S25 Edge, but Samsung’s boffins somehow squeezed a full 4,400 mAh offering into that reduced chassis, meaning I often had enough battery to last more than a day and a half. Impressive.

The Bad: AI, S Pen, and Hand-Feel

AI Continues to Struggle with the One Thing I Need It For

Now for the less stellar aspects of the Fold7. With every new smartphone, Samsung makes a big song and dance about its Galaxy AI functionality, and the Fold7 is no different. However, as someone who approaches anything AI-related with a hefty dose of cynicism—yes, call me a Luddite all you want—I’m prone to seeing much of it as gimmickry. Some of it’s fun, sure, and some of it’s genuinely useful. But other elements make it hard to imagine authentic use cases, while some of the worst of it undermines the humanity in how we communicate with one another — I recoil at the very real scenario in which two AI bots chatter away at one another with minimal human input. 

This time around, the AI largely keeps out of the way or does its thing behind the scenes, which I appreciate. But, while there is now a larger suite of AI-powered features than ever before, I won’t fully trust it while it still can’t accurately transcribe audio recordings from my interviews. That’s all I ask. It might sound silly, but it’s the yardstick by which I measure AI’s usefulness, and as this simple task continues to elude it, I cannot help but feel distrustful of it more broadly. 

The S Pen is Absent

To be completely honest, I don’t care about the S Pen’s disappearing act in between the Fold6 and Fold7. I never found much use for it, so it’s not something I would mark this new foldable down for. 

However, I know there are those out there for whom the S Pen and the large internal display were a match made in heaven. So for their sake, I’m registering the S Pen-shaped void here, even though the truth is I don’t care one bit.

Unpleasant Hand-Feel

While I cannot heap enough praise on the Fold7 for the triumph of engineering that it is, I simultaneously feel compelled to note that if I owned one I’d be slapping a case on it as soon as possible. 

Not only is this due to a somewhat slippery feel in the hand (fuelling my paranoia that I could at any moment drop the phone and ruin that immaculate form factor), but it’s also for my own comfort as the phone’s hinged side has a way of digging into my palm that is less than pleasant. This is a minor gripe, but a curious side effect of Samsung’s impressive design. 

Many of Many’s Verdict on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7

The Galaxy Z Fold7 is the most fully realised foldable device I have encountered. It’s an astonishing achievement that once again cements Samsung as the world’s leading force in foldables. Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen it turn the heads of people who have remained steadfastly unimpressed by previous foldable devices. To quote the aforementioned Apple fan on the Man of Many team, “They did it. They finally did it.”

They really did, and while that AUD$2,899 starting price will keep the Fold7 beyond consideration for many, there will be those for whom the “but” has now disappeared.

DISCLAIMER: The author of this post, Rob Edwards, was supplied a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 for the purposes of this review.